ENG 150: INTRODUCTION TO FICTION
The Story and the Writer
Fall, 2001
COURSE NUMBER/TITLE: ENG 150: Introduction to Fiction
TEXTS: Charters, A. (1999). The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction (5th ed.), Boston, MA: Bedford.
Guterson, D. (1995). Snow Falling on Cedars. New York:Vintage.
Anaya, R.(1972). Bless Me Ultima.
PROFESSOR: Katherine Parr McFarland, Ph.D.
131 Dauphin Humanities Center
717-477-1496 (office) (e-mail)
OFFICE HOURS: M 3:00 – 4:00
W 3:00 – 5:00
F 9:00 – 11:00 or by appointment
DESCRIPTION: See university catalog.
EMPHASIS: I have chosen a wide range of stories this semester that represent many voices in literature. We will emphasize a history of the narrative, the elements of fiction, the experience that the reader brings to the text, and the stories themselves. We also will compare the short story as a genre with the novel. We will pay close attention to the storytellers' use of language (style and tone) to create each work. We will read commentaries written by the authors about their practice and theory of writing as well as other critics' responses. Finally we will go into the critic's circle to analyze literature by using different lenses to form an understanding through historical, sociological, biographical, psychological, political, and new criticism approaches.
OUTCOMES: Through class discussions, group activities, and class reading / writing assignments, the students will be able to:
1. gain greater appreciation and understanding of a diversity of literature.
2. identify the characteristics and tools for evaluating literature.
3. examine the writer's theory and practice of writing.
4. think critically and analytically in response to literature.
5. find linkages between styles of writing, themes, and genres.
NEW PARADIGM: This literature class will be taught from a student-centered paradigm in which the instructor helps students to build knowledge through a workshop setting. As part of a community of learners, students, not the instructor, will be the center of teaching and the learning process. Specifically, students will be "actively engaged in open-ended responses and critical thinking” while the instructor will encourage student "risk-taking and exploration" in literature. (adapted from K. Strickland, 1995)
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Participation/Attendance/Daily Work/Quizzes ( 30 %)
Oral / Written Reports ( 10 %.)
Exams ( 30 %)
Critical Papers ( 30 %)
Other: Grading Policy:
Lots of questions/reactions A 100-96%
Pocket jingle for Xerox copies A- 95-90%
Reading Log Notebook (bound) B+ 89-87%
B 86-84%
B- 83-80%
C+ 79-77%
C 76-74%
C- 73-70%
ATTENDANCE / PARTICIPATION
The course involves class discussion, collaboration, and student-centered activities; therefore, your attendance / participation remains crucial. If for any reason you are absent, you need to call me, gather notes, and collect handouts from your class "partner." You are responsible for making-up all missed work. Any more than three absences will result in a deduction of five points for each day missed.
DISABLED STUDENTS
A student with a problem that handicaps his/her performance is expected to arrange for a conference with the instructor in order that appropriate strategies be considered to facilitate participation and achievement.
ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE READING
As you know, we have a lot of reading to do in this class. One way to help you get into complex material involves kinesthetic movements linked with your reading. The more difficult the reading, the more you need specialized tools. (This does not involve reading for enjoyment.) Thus, Active Reading involves placing notes in margins as you read to summarize each paragraph. It may also involve highlighting, underlining main ideas, or circling important words/concepts, bracketing, placing checks in margins, mapping/webbing for organization, and predicting/asking questions before you read.
ORAL / WRITTEN REPORTS (10%)
Oral/Written Reports will be a part of your research this semester. You will need to do library research to supplement what is in our textbooks. After choosing an author, you will need to find a partner. Together you will produce an oral/written report that will become a handout of two pages or more. When you give your report, count on a 20 – 30 minute presentation. Use need to cover the following:
1. A mini-lesson on some aspect of the novel that will teach us about the elements of a narrative.
2. An interesting, attention-getting introduction to begin your presentation
3. Some background on the author and/or period of literature
4. A two-to-three sentence summary of the work,
5. A class activity to involve students (games, small group discussions, writing activities, art, drama, music . . . or any other good idea),
6. Some well thought-out questions on chosen work which are different than the study questions provided.
7. A quiz worth ten points – to be graded. . (Create a quiz between five to ten short answers, but no true /false, multiple choice, or matching. Your quiz could concentrate on quotes (give at least three possible names), plot, character, setting, and themes as some possible examples to get you started. Quizzes will be worth ten points. You will need to correct the quizzes you design (no telling answers in advance) and be ready to justify your grades.
8. Extra points will be given on discussion of what critics wrote of the work.
CRITICAL PAPERS (30%)
Your critical papers may begin with a "gut reaction" to a piece of literature in the early stages. Do not underestimate your initial reactions. Then, once you have landed a topic, think of your literary analysis as an insightful argument in which you persuade your reader of some point to be argued in your selected text. (Text means any body of work in this case.) Your job is to push your point through selected quotes, interpretations, elaboration, illustrations, examples, and lots of references. As you are reading, make sure you take notes on index cards to help you with your organization. (I prefer you to do your first paper with a partner, and the second paper may be done individually or with a partner.) Use MLA to document your paper. If additional help is needed, make an appointment to see me or to go to the Learning Assistance Center (477-1420) of McLean Hall -- in advance. This extra help can be a godsend! Grading criteria will be forthcoming. Generally, your papers:
must be three to five typed pages - computer generated
must avoid a plot summary.
should go beyond the superficial
must include five quotes from the literary text,
must contain an interpretive thesis statement often located in first paragraph.
must include an introductory and concluding paragraph.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Note: Course Schedule is subject to change as needed. Readings are to be completed on assigned day.
Date Class / Assignment
8/27 Introductions / Syllabus / Interviews
8/29 Snow Falling on Cedars
8/31 Snow Falling on Cedars
9/3 Snow Falling on Cedars
9/5 Snow Falling on Cedars
9/7 Snow Falling on Cedars
9/10 Snow Falling on Cedars
9/12 Test on Cedars
9/14 Cedars Film
9/17 Research Papers: Writing about Short Stories (952)
A Brief History of the Short Story (929)
9/19 Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown”
Melville, "Blackness in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown" (833)
9/21 Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado” (628)
Poe, "The Importance of the Single Effect in a Prose Tale" (854)
9/24 Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (74)
9/26 Jewett, “A White Heron”
Jewett, "Looking Back on Girlhood" (825)
9/28 Meet in Pairs / Library Research
10/1 Chopin, “The Story of the Hour”
10/3 Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Gilman, "Undergoing the Cure for Nervous Prostration" (820)
Gilbert & Gubar, "A Feminist Reading of Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper"
10/5 Film of “The Yellow Wallpaper”
10/8 Fall Break
10/10 Cather, “Paul’s Case”
10/12 Test on Short Stories
10/15 Writing Support Groups / Critical Analysis - Rough Draft Due/ Bring 5 copies
10/17 Crane, “The Open Boat”
“The Sinking of the Commodore” (811)
10/19 Kafka, “The Metamorphosis”
Updike, "Kafka and The Metamorphosis" (867)
10/22 Lawrence, “The Rocking-Horse Winner”
10/24 Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily”
Faulkner, "The Meaning of A Rose for Emily" (816)
10/26 Porter, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”
10/29 O’Connor, “Everything That Rises Must Converge”
O'Connor, "A Reasonable Use of the Unreasonable" (840)
10/31 Tan, “Two Kinds”
11/2 Silko, “Yellow Women”
Silko, “Language & Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective
11/5 O’Brien, “The Things They Carried”
11/7 Baldwin. “Sonny’s Blues”
Baldwin, "Autobiographical Notes" (794)
11/9 Garcia Marquez, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”
11/12 Anaya – Bless Me, Ultima
11/14 Anaya – Bless Me, Ultima
11/16 Go to Library for Critical Analysis
11/19 Go to Library for Critical Analysis
11/21 Thanksgiving Break
11/26 Anaya – Bless Me, Ultima
11/28 Anaya – Bless Me, Ultima
11/30 Anaya – Bless Me, Ultima
12/3 Anaya – Bless Me, Ultima
12/5 Writing Support Groups – Bring 5 copies of Rough Draft
12/7 Critical Analyis Due
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